


Time Has Come (let us be brave)

by shinigami_lives



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-04
Updated: 2012-11-04
Packaged: 2017-11-17 23:24:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/554343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinigami_lives/pseuds/shinigami_lives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe between them they can mend all their broken places. AU after 3x15.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Has Come (let us be brave)

Elena woke slowly, reluctantly, stirring only slightly from a deep slumber to a drowsing sort of wakefulness. In her gradual shift to awareness, it took her a moment to realise that anything was wrong. For the first time in - well, too long - she felt utterly comfortable and secure. 

She knew without looking that the body pressed hard against her was Stefan's and the curve of his shoulder against her cheek, the weight of his arms around her waist, felt so familiar, so natural, it seemed ludicrous to remind herself that whatever fragile relationship remained between her and Stefan, she no longer enjoyed this kind of casual intimacy. 

Still, even the persistent whispers of logic could not make her want to abandon that familiar embrace. Resisting the call of rational consciousness, she curled deeper into those comforting arms. But even as she burrowed deeper into Stefan's chest, she became aware of the heavy weight of another body wrapped close around her own of another face buried in her hair. 

Stunned to wakefulness she opened her eyes - it wouldn't be the first time that Damon had invited himself into bed with Stefan and her, but the same voice of realism that had reminded her that she no longer shared this kind of intimacy with Stefan told her that Damon no longer engaged in such casual teasing around their relationship. Damon was certainly in bed with them - indeed, a casual glimpse of the room told her that the bed they were in was in fact Damon's, but opening her eyes she looked straight at him, wrapped almost protectively around Stefan, looking strangely vulnerable in sleep while Stefan looked for the first time in far too long as peaceful as Elena had herself felt when she awoke. 

But with Damon cocooning Stefan from the other side, then the body pressed behind Elena's own could not be his. Still somewhat reluctant, but increasingly agitated, Elena shook off the arms that held her and say straight up against the headboard, looking away from Stefan and Damon to see who else they were somehow sharing bed space with. 

Klaus looked oddly innocent in sleep, eyes closed and blonde hair tousled. Elijah, pressed close beside him, looked for once less ancient and world-weary, no sadness visible in the smooth lines of the face curled into his brother's hair. It was the sight of Elijah that jogged her truly back to her senses. 

She then knew with certainty that he had left, that after Caroline had dismissed her from visiting Bonnie, she had returned to her own echoingly empty house to find his farewell note. She had not cried herself to sleep - even after almost being burned alive by Rebekah, burdened with the weight of another life lost to keep her safe, it seemed she was now too exhausted for grief, or perhaps she had cried her eyes dry of tears. But whatever her sorrow, she recalled falling into an uneasy slumber in the cold loneliness of her own bed. She had no memory of even coming to the Boarding House, let alone finding such peaceful sleep in bed with four vampires who could barely occupy the same room without snarling and bloodshed. That they remained so deeply asleep despite her waking movements told her again that, if it hadn't already been obvious, there was something very wrong with the situation.

Elena wasn't much given to profanity as a general rule, but the words slipped from her lips almost without her conscious knowledge.

"What the fuck?"

The noise of this exclamation certainly roused her bed companions, and she felt almost guilty as she watched the peaceful lines of their sleeping faces contort themselves into harsh masks of anger or studied impassivity. Elena had thought herself accustomed to the feats of supernatural strength and speed which both her friends and enemies were capable of, but even she was absently impressed by the violent speed with which the bed mates scattered. 

For a moment, silence hung in the room while its occupants scrambled for composure, attempted to work out what was going on and how to react.

Klaus spoke first, the seeming amusement in his languorous not concealing a sharp edge of anger that promised violence. 

"Well, this is unexpected."

It seemed with Klaus having broken the silence, the others set their reactions around his. Stefan's was (unsurprisingly for this new, broken creature Klaus had twisted him into) anger, a snarling rage now all too familiar turned on Klaus almost at the moment he spoke.

"What did you do?"

Damon looked like he also would like to ask the same question, possibly with the application of vervain coated stakes for emphasis. In the face of the obvious anger and confusion exhibited by both Salvatore brothers, Klaus became even more purposefully and ostentatiously nonchalant.

"Not that I don't like to share my bed with a beautiful woman, mates, but on this occasion I would have done without the other company."

Elijah broke his silence then.

"There is no reason for Niklaus to have done... this"

Damon scowled.

"Since when does he need a reason to do anything except for his own amusement?"

Klaus's response was immediate and pointed.

"I could say the same about you, mate."

Again, Elijah interceded before blood could be spilt. 

"Chaos for its own sake has never been Niklaus's preference. If you will not accept that, then you should at least see that, whatever this is, it does not benefit my brother in any particular way."

In the face of this rationalisation, Damon resorted to sarcasm.

"So, I'm supposed to believe that all four of you just sleep-walked into my bed?"

"Trust me mate, there are beds I'd rather be sharing." Klaus again. If, Elena reflected, he didn't orchestrate chaos for his own amusement, then he certainly had no qualms about furthering it to entertain himself. Still, she suspected that for once, Klaus was telling the truth - she could see no reason for him to have engineered the five of them into bed together: indeed, while she wouldn't be surprised if he'd arrange some such trick between her, Stefan and Damon and might even involve himself for immediate amusement, it seemed out of character for him to involve Elijah in such mischief, and she was certain that such trickery was not of Elijah's device.

During her musings, the argument between Damon, Klaus and Stefan had only deteriorated. Casting a somewhat desperate look at Elijah, who had found the corner of the room farthest from her in which to lurk, Elena stepped into the fray, lest the spat devolve to bloodshed, or possibly hair-pulling. 

"I don't think anyone here would have done this for no reason, so perhaps we should try and work out what is really going on?"

With the tensions somewhat defused, Klaus seemed to lose interest however, perhaps finding the situation no longer sufficiently amusing, and seeing that it was clear that no one else knew what had happened.

"As entertaining as I'm sure that would be, love, I'm afraid I have more pressing concerns right now."

As he sauntered from the room, Elena found herself sending a beseeching look at Elijah, although Damon muttered something to the effect of 'good riddance', and Stefan's fierce scowl seemed to indicate that he was of the same opinion. Nonetheless, Elijah followed after his brother, and Elena could just about hear him speaking rapidly and quietly to Klaus, trying to persuade him to at least consider that something could be going on

Elena noted absently, and with some relief that, despite the close quarters they had all been sharing until only minutes ago, all of them seemed semi-decent. She herself was still wearing her pyjamas, but given the propensity of vampires to consider access to her house an all-access pass to her bedroom, she had long got in the habit of sleeping in clothes that left enough to the imagination. Damon was topless of course, but as she suspected that he frequently slept naked (not that she thought about that much) the baggy sleep pants he was wearing seemed in this case to be a minor piece of good fortune. The shirt and pants that Stefan wore told her that, although it was no longer her concern, his sleep garb had not massively altered. Klaus and Elijah didn't seem to have changed clothing at all, and Elena suppressed a semi-hysterical laugh as she thought of Elijah in one of his eternally immaculate suits and their contrast to her own pyjama top, which, she noted at the point, was currently Snoopy themed. 

Her mind had wandered again, but she was brought back to herself with a literal bang and crash. Klaus had returned to the room, all his earlier studied humour absent as he pinned Damon to the wall with a hand tightening around his neck.

"This had better not be one of your pathetic fucking plans, mate, otherwise you will all regret it."

Stefan snarled, reaching for a stake that had been - somewhere. Elena turned to Elijah, whose customary expression of impassivity had been replaced by an anger that burned around his eyes.

"What's going on?"

"We can't leave. It appears that we are trapped inside here, perhaps indefinitely."

TBC.


End file.
